What Kind Of Battery Does Tesla Use

New York (CNN Business)In a major claiming to electric automobile leader Tesla, Full general Motors announced it has created a new electric vehicle bombardment that offers up to 400 miles of range and volition be cheaper to produce than today'south batteries.

The new bombardment cells will hold plenty energy to potentially power a car for 400 miles or more on a unmarried accuse, the company announced Midweek. That's slightly more driving range than any car Tesla offers. Tesla claims a range of 390 miles for the latest version of its Model South Long Range sedan.

GM's new battery cells will exist used in several of its new fully electric models, including a recently unveiled cocky-driving electrical car, the Prowl Origin, and a futurity Cadillac luxury SUV. GM also hopes to license its battery technology to other companies.

The declaration was part of a broader presentation on the company's aggressive plans for electric vehicles.

"GM is building toward an all-electric future because we believe climate modify is real," GM CEO Mary Barra said during a presentation for media and investors.

She said the company would be investing more than $3 billion annually in electrical vehicle research and development between 2020 and 2025.

"We want to put everyone in an EV, and we have what it takes to do it," Barra said.

Cheaper and more flexible batteries

The new battery cells, which GM named Ultium, are soft, flat pouches. (Electrical vehicle batteries tin have dissimilar forms. Tesla bombardment cells, for instance, are hard cylinders.) Normally, these sorts of pouch cells have to be lined up in horizontal rows with the pouches continuing on edge similar books in a bookshelf. The Ultium cells can be used that manner or they can be stacked upwards vertically with the pouches laying on their sides. This gives car designers more flexibility considering it allows the battery pack, which is made up of lots of these cells, to have a greater variety of shapes.

The Ultium battery cell uses a minimal amount of cobalt, an expensive ingredient for electric vehicle batteries, and that factor, combined with continuing manufacturing improvements, will drive prices down, the visitor said.

GM promised the new bombardment cells volition quickly come down in price to beneath $100 per kilowatt hour. Batteries make upwards a very large part of an electric vehicle'southward cost and $100 per kilowatt hr is frequently cited by industry analysts every bit the threshold that will enable electric cars to go truly cost competitive with traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.

GM's next generation of electric cars will have new batteries that can hold more power.

GM besides boasted of its power to adapt its existing facilities to manufacture electric cars. The company has already said that its Detroit Hamtramck associates plant, which not long ago produced a multifariousness of gasoline-powered vehicles, will now begin to industry only fully electric models.

With just batteries, cables and electric motors, electric vehicles have far fewer moving parts than gasoline engines, with pistons, valves and rods, and transmissions with multitudes of circuitous gears.

GM executives believe that the company'southward new generation of electric vehicles will be assisting from the outset cheers to these reduced costs. GM admits that today's Chevrolet Commodities EV -- currently the just electric car GM sells in the United States -- is not profitable. Battery costs are a major factor in that.

Taking on Tesla

While GM did not specifically name any competitors, the comparisons to Tesla are clear. Tesla is the leading electric vehicle maker in the world. Information technology built an enormous new battery factory in Nevada, a new car manufactory in Mainland china and is building some other new manufactory in Deutschland. Tesla as well currently builds its cars at its factory in Fremont, California, where GM and Toyota cars were once made.

For its function, Tesla is planning a Battery and Powertrain Investor Day for some time side by side month at which the company could announce significant advancements of its own.

Less than 250,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United states last twelvemonth and ninety% of those were Teslas, according to data from Cox Automotive.

GM cited "third party forecasters" as saying electrical vehicle sales in the Usa could rise to about 3 million units by 2030. GM'southward own analysis predicts the figure could be "materially college" as more than electric vehicles are launched in popular markets and public charging networks grow, the visitor said.

In improver, GM engineers are already working on next-generation battery cells that could enable driving ranges of up to 600 miles, GM engineer Andy Oury said in a recorded presentation.

GM also previewed a number of new fully electric car models the company plans to produce over the side by side few years. The Cruise Origin, a completely driverless vehicle was already unveiled in San Francisco terminal month. GM'south Cruise autonomous driving subsidiary hopes to use it in a driverless ride-hailing service in San Francisco. No date has been ready for that.

A new version of the Bolt EV will be launched later this year, the visitor said, followed by a crossover SUV version, chosen the Bolt EUV, in the summertime of 2021.

The Cadillac Lyriq, a luxury electric crossover, will exist unveiled next month. Subsequently that, the GMC Hummer EV electric truck will be unveiled on May 20, GM said.